Explosions heard in Maguindanao —report

Authorities in Maguindanao province have started investigating at least four to five explosions heard since Sunday night, the eve of the mid-term elections. The first explosion was heard at 10 p.m. Sunday, according to a report by GMA TV reporter Jiggy Manicad, aired during early Monday's broadcast of Eleksyon 2013. Four more explosions were heard before dawn of election day, near a checkpoint entering Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao. Authorities in the province had been on alert against possible activities of private armed groups. But they are also on the lookout for possible attacks by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters led by rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander Ameril Umbra Kato. Maguindanao gained notoriety in 2009 when at least 58 people were killed, 32 of them media workers, in the infamous Maguindanao Massacre. — DVM, GMA News